Link toy



MalCh 13, 1955 .1.J. scHlGAs 2,737,755

LINK TOY Filed Aug. 14, 1952 l IN VEN TOR.

aa, ad jug/afg J7 Giang/5 United States Patent O Company, Inc., NewYork, N. Y., a corporation of 'NewYork invention relatesto Ltoys, *andmore particularly to a toy for doodling Aor'ddling with inidlenioments.The general 'typeof toyris already kiiwn,`it `cm p rising a series ofVVpivoted bars i's'oniewlat 'resembling afence, andi preferablyniakirg'pnamclodririg. There are a sulicient nniber v*of Api'v'otednits,` s`y` twelve, to

lrnake it possible to rearrange`the units into `a"'var`ie`ty offorrnations, and considerable yentertainnieiit isV derived inseeingrhowrnany varied formations may'be' obtained, and in searching foradditional new formations.

nur nber of individal bars, `drilled"andfpivoted'togetherVattheirendsjby wire'links. Thswalt-ernate sections ofmthe fence mightfco'npii'se for suchfbara Iandy the intermediate sections threestich'gbais, the bars being interleaved at, their ends so that thethree' bars 'serve "tospace .apart the fonr bars," and viceversa. The'costv of manu- Vfactnre and assembly/was highfnd theresulting productwaswnot as durable `as` wo'nldmbef desired, considering that itissubjected tohoii'rs 'ofi'ninipiilatim 'nd' so'rnetimes abuse. Moreoventhere is a itendency'for the pivot action between sections tobecome,lse,"in` 'which 'case sorne irritation arises because of dificltyin holding desired for mations as they Yare being rnade up.

The primary object'of the present invention is vtogen- `erally improve'toys of `the spec'itied'chacter, Vand to V overcorne the foregoingdifiiculties, "while providing a toy of improved appearance andeconomical nannfacture. In accordance with one feat'reand object of ymyjinvention the toy 'isfrnade' upof links or sections" each having apluralityV of spaced parallel V'bai-s,A and these ,barsare joined infixed'l spia`c `ed"relation by'v Vconnections therebetween, the'said`connections preferably being disposed midway of 'theendsIand the entirelinkjinclding all of thebars andcnneCtinS, beingmolded in' its entiretyas a single integral nnit.

. Inn a particular preferred form of the inventiori'ea'ch and sockets,bothfof which are nlolded integrallyas a part of the links.VThe'sock'ets4 'are'fop'enj and designed to receive the pins withaV snaptit,i this lfit preferably being frictional sothaltthelink's tend tohold anyforr'nation into which they are "put. fMorver, the sockets atone end of a linkare preferably formed by ctting that link at angles`'in"oppqs`t direction. The end Vof each bar is widelyopen,"butthefcombined ends 'ofthee ICC - 'f'ull"dstance`betweenthe midconnections and thesockets ln accordance with stilly another feature and'object `of the inveritionthepins'are formed at a link end having'aneven'nniber'f bars. Inthis way eachpin'is supported iait both Je'nd's,and acts as `an additional spacing means between bars. As ra corollary,the vopen-"endedsockets are'for'med vat tht-1t end of a link 'having an`odd'number of "bars, The odd number i'sa1ways"made'one'less than theeven number, and the cutaway "ends are Atherefore `concealed`fromview'whe'n'lookin'g at theformati'ons'into which'thc' toy maybe put.

"A'still further object "of the invention'istowso design thelinks thatthey'rnay be folded'or nested closelyfagainst `o`n`e another. Still"anotherobject of the "invention is to "sofrelate the arms of the linksasto establish Land tain 'a' frictional relationship attheprivots,- thisfriction `be`in`g permanently" retainedbyfreascn of the 'bendingresilience of the arms of the'p'ivots,"'arid involving'a bendnigbothintheplane,` and transverselyfof theplane, 'ofthe' arrns.

'To accomplish thel foregoing objects,and other'objects lwhich -willhereinafter `appenniny invention resides in the toy elements, 'and'their relation'oneto another as are'hereinafter`morejparticnlarlydescribed in the followiig specification.Thespec'ication'is'accompanied'by a drawing, in'which:

`Fig. 1 fis' a 'diagrammatic viewshowing' one typical formationintowhich'the toy may be'p'ut;

Figf'Z 'is'a sirnilarvie'w showinganother' formation;

*"lig. 3 is afront" elevationofapreferred'fornrof link;

"Figf4 'is abottom plan View' ofthe link' shown'iri Fig. 3 before beingjoined to anthe link;

Fig."5' isfafhor'izontalsectiontaken approximately in the. plne" of the"linevS-SbfFig.' 3, showing* the" link r4lefore' being joined to anotherlink;

Fig `6 `:isa `view similar 'to :Fig."4, aftery the 'link has 'been':joined to 'adjacent'li'nks' and Lshowing how the links "iriay be foldedor nested'to'gether;

"Eig 7 is a'transverse'section' taken' approximatelyin the'jla'neofthelinev 7-5-7 ofFig 3;

Fig2f9 aV plan view"thereof;

"Figvv l1 'is' a fragmentary pl'anview of the link shown'in Eig.' 10.

i Referring "to 'the drawing, and "more," particularlyr to Eig. l, thecomplete toy here'illustrated comprisestw'elve sections or links L. iTheseare pivoted fend to'end -in such fash'ioriithat'they' mayv befolded" relative to one another 'in'either direction. TThus 'thesections may be arranged tofo'rm asquare with'four points, as shownin`Fig. l; 'or a three-pointed star, as shown inFig. 2,01' any of numer-"o'us "far' more" intricate formations. "Each linkA comprises ajseriesIof simulated' bars'sup'erposcd'in a common plane, 'and afpreferred formof a' single link is shownin Figs. 3 through 7 'of the drawing.

Referring to Fig; 3, 'the `link L has aplnrality of bars 2i14f16',lent), 22'and 24,all lyingin'substantially'tlie 'samefplane andjoined'inxed'spaced relationby connections 213' therebetween. lThesebars receive' the barsof adjacent links in" interleaved relation, andthefour bar end offan' adjacent link lis shown' in dotted `lines at`thc`Ieft of Fig.' 3, while' the threeV bar end'of an adjacent linkfis shownin dotted 'lin'es at the right of Fig. 3. Each link is moldedin itsentirety out of asuitable' molding plastic as asingle -integral -'unit,that isg'f-the Vbt11's"12=thro\`1 gh 24 are `all made as a single moldedpiece withfixedcon- *Triectiontherebe'tween intermediate theV ends.

In the present form.` .off the .2inventi'orn` thefcormections fare"coincident with an 'overlap-foff-th :bars 'The overlapping or connectingportions are preferably cut away or tapered, as is clearly shown at 28and 30 in Fig. 4 of the drawing. In effect the connecting portions atthe center are somewhat diamond-shaped, as shown in Fig. 5, but there isno actual section like that shown in Fig. 5, the result shown in Fig. 5being obtained by stepping the section upward, as shown by the change inelevation of the line 5--5 in Fig. 3. This cutting away of theoverlapping portions permits the links to fold as closely together asthough there were no overlapping portions, for the three bar portionstit between the four bar portions of the adjacent links, and vice versa.

The link L has pins 32, and mating sockets 34 and 36. These pins andsockets are molded integrally as a part of the links. Moreover, thesockets are open and so designed as to receive the pins of an adjacentlink with a snap fit, thus minimizing the time and labor needed forassembly of the toy. More specifically, and referring to Fig. 4, thesocket 34 at the end of the arm 16 is cut away and quite open, the end38 being at an angle of ab out forty-live degrees, while the part 40 mayextend transversely of the link in order to facilitate the moldingoperation. Referring now to Fig. 5, the socket 36 is cut away inopposite direction, the part 42 being at an angle of about forty-tivedegrees, but of opposite slope to the part 38 in Fig. 4. There is atransverse surface at 44.

It will be understood that by thus making the ends of the successivebars open at angles in opposite directions the combined ends of three ormore bars are sutciently closed to hold the superposed pins of anadjacent link. To assemble the links it is merely necessary to push themtogether, and the resulting snap engagement is afforded by the bendingresilience of the bars 12, 14 and 16, the bars 12 and 16 bending in onedirection, while the bar 14 bends in opposite direction.

Moreover, to insure longer maintained frictional fit the links may beinitially molded with a slight angular displacement of the bars.Specifically, while all of the bars lie essentially in the same plane,it will be seen from examination of Fig. 4 that the bar 16 is initiallymolded at a slight angle relative to the plane of the bars 18-24. Thisangle is indicated at A in Fig. 4, and in a specific case was 21/2degrees. The bar 14 is molded at a slight opposite angle, indicated at Bin Fig. 5, with respect to the plane of the link. Here again the anglemay be quite small, say 7.1/2 degrees, and is eliminated when the linksare snapped together, for the arms 12, 14 and 16 are brought intosubstantial alignment by the three superposed and properly aligned pinsof the mating adjacent link. This bias or pre-loading of the barsinsures a secure engagement and holding grip of the sockets on the pins,and a maintained friction at the pivots.

As will be seen from inspection of Fig. 3, the pins 32 are preferablyprovided at the end of the link having an even number of bars, so thateach pin is supported at both ends. ln this way the pins act also asadditional spacer means to maintain the spacing and parallelism of thebars 18-24 The sockets are formed at that end of the link having an oddnumber of bars, which number is one less than the even number. Anincidental result of this is that the cutaway or socket ends areconcealed between ends which are not cut away.

In accordance with a further feature of the invention the bars areadditionally biased or pre-loaded in another direction to maintain thedesired frictional pivoting action between links. Specifically, thedistance C shown in Fig. 3 is made greater when molded than the distanceD, so that the top and bottom bars 12 and 16 are bent toward one anotherslightly when the links are assembled. This difference in dimension isquite small, and in one specific case where the dimension D was 0.930,the dimension C was 0.950.

It is not essential to form each link with half-length bars, and with adifferent number of bars at each end. A variant form of the invention isillustrated in Figs. 8

through ll of the drawing. In this case the toy is made up of alternatemale links, and intermediate female links. A male link ils shown inFigs. l() and 1l, and it comprises four superpcsed parallel bars 50 heldapart in spaced relation by connections 52 therebetween, andadditionally properly spaced by end pins 54. It will be understood thatthe bars 50, the connections 52, and the pins 54 are all moldedintegrally in a single molding operation.

A typical female link is shown in Figs. 8 and 9. This comprises threesuperposed parallel bars 56, 53 and 60, held in xed spaced relation byconnections 62 therebetween. Sockets are formed at the ends of the bars,and these may be substantially the same as previously described, thatis, successive bars may be cut away at oppositely directed anglse. Thusin Fig. 9 the end of the bar 56 is cut away at angle 66, and the end ofthe bar 58 is cut away at the angle 64. In this way three or more barswill form a closed socket. Similar open sockets are combined to form aclosed socket formed at the other end of the link.

It will be understood that male and female links are snapped together inalternation, there being six of each in the specific toy here shown, buta greater or lesser total number could be provided. It will also beunderstood that refinements such as bias or pre-loading of the arms 56,58 and 60 in opposite directions, as indicated by the angles A and B inFigs. 4 and 5, and in the plane of the link, as indicated by thedimensions C and D in Fig. 3, may also be used in connection with thefemale link shown in Fig. 8. It will further be understood that whilethe connections 62 between the bars of the female link shown in Fig. 8are essential for integral molding of an entire link at a time, theconnections 52 in the male link of Fig. l() are not similarlyindispensable, because the pins 54 themselves act as spacers. However,it is preferred to use connections 52 in the male link because of theadditional strength of the finished part, and the greater ease ofmolding because of the freer flow of material between the parts of themold cavity.

Finally it will be understood that additional refine ments such as agenerally diamond-shaped cross-section for the connections 52 and 62 maybe provided, much as shown at 28, 30 in Fig. 5 of the drawing, thuspermitting the bars of the successive links to interleave or nestclosely together when links are folded against one another, as isdesirable when producing certain formations. A slight bevelling for thispurpose is shown in broken lines in Fig. 9 at 62, but the bevel may becarried further, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

lt will be understood that the form of the invention shown in Fig. 3 maybe made without the pre-load angle indicated at A and B, and thepre-load bias indicated at C and D, these being desirable but notessential refinements.

It is believed that the construction, method of assembly, and method ofuse of my improved toy, as well as the advantages thereof, will beapparent from the foregoing detailed description. It will also beapparent that while l have shown and described the invention in severalpreferred forms, changes may be made in the structures disclosed withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention as sought to be dened in thefollowing claims.

I claim:

l. A toy comprising links pivoted end to end, each link having aplurality of relatively long spaced bars lying in substantially the sameplane and joined in fixed spaced relation by a transverse connectiontherebetween, and each link being molded in its entirety as a singleintegral unit, the spacing between the bars increasing somewhat from thetransverse connection toward one end of the link,` in order to introducefriction which is maintained in axial direction by the bendingresilience of the bars.

2. A toy comprising links pivoted end to end, each link having aplurality of relatively long spaced approximately parallel bars lying insubstantially the same plane and joined in fixed spaced relation by atransverse connection therebetween, and each link being molded in itsentirety as a single integral unit, the sockets at one end of a linkbeing formed by cutting away the ends of successive bars at angles inopposite directions so that the snap engagement of the socket isafforded by the bending resilience of the bars between the connectionsand the sockets, and each bar being initially formed at a slight angleto the plane of the link, the angle of each bar displacing it in thatdirection in which the socket at the end of the bar is cut away, therebyincreasing the radial friction which is maintained at the sockets by thebending resilience of the bars when said bars are brought into the planeof the link by snap engagement with the pins of an adjacent link.

3. A toy comprising links pivoted end to end, each link having aplurality of spaced approximately parallel bars lying in substantiallythe same plane and joined in fixed spaced relation by connectionstherebetween, and each link being molded in its entirety as a singleintegral unit, the sockets at one end of a link being formed by cuttingaway the ends of successive bars at angles in opposite directions sothat the snap engagement of the socket is atiorded by the bendingresilience of the bars between the connections and the sockets, and eachbar being initially formed at a slight angle to the plane of the link,the angle of each bar displacing it in that direction in which thesocket at the end of the bar is cut away, thereby increasing the radialfriction which is maintained at the sockets by the bendng resilience ofthe bars when said bars are brought into the plane of the link by snapengagement with the pins of an adjacent link, the spacing between thebars in the plane of the link increasing somewhat from the connectionstoward one end of the link, in order to introduce further friction whichis maintained in axial direction by the bending resilience of the bars.

4. A toy as defined in claim 3, in which each link has an even number ofbars at one end and one less number of bars at the other end, with thebars overlapping at the middle of the link to form connections betweenthe bars of a single link, and in which the even number of bars lie in acommon plane and integral pins are formed at their ends, while theangularly cut sockets are formed at the end with the odd number of bars,and in which the angle of the bars is an angle relative to the plane ofthe even number bars.

5. A toy comprising links pivoted end to end, each link having aplurality of spaced approximately parallel bars lying in substantiallythe same plane and joined in fixed spaced relation by connectionstherebetween, and each link being molded in its entirety as a singleintegral unit, the sockets at one endof a link being formed by cuttingaway the ends of successive bars at angles in opposite directions sothat the snap engagement of the socket is aiiorded by the bendingresilience of the bars between the connections and the sockets, and eachbar being initially formed at a slight angle to the plane of the link,the angle of each bar displacing it in that direction in which thesocket at the end of the bar is cut away, thereby increasing the radialfriction which is maintained at the sockets by the bending resilience ofthe bars when said bars are brought into the plane of the link by snapengagement with the pins of an adjacent link, each link having an evennumber of bars at one end and one less number of bars not less thanthree at the other end, with the bars overlapping at the middle of thelink to form connections between the bars of a single link, and the evennumber of bars lie in a common plane and integral pins are formed attheir ends, while the angularly cut sockets are formed at the end withthe odd number of bars, and the angle of the bars being an anglerelative to the plane of the even number bars.

References Cited inthe ille of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,303,294 Wagner Nov. 24, 1942 2,574,125 Schoeninger Nov. 6, 19512,576,439 Beck et al. Nov. 27, 1951 2,637,460 Yates May 5, 1953 FOREIGNPATENTS 664,998 Great Britain Jan. 16, 1952

